


sleepless

by kurokobun



Series: KagaKuroMonth2014 [3]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Anxiety, Fear, Fireman Kagami, Friendship, Future Fic, Hurt/Comfort, KagaKuroMonth, Kindergarten Teacher Kuroko, M/M, Model Kise Ryouta, Policeman Aomine, mention of: murahimu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-28
Updated: 2014-10-28
Packaged: 2018-02-23 00:05:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2526632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kurokobun/pseuds/kurokobun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s not like Tetsuya will ever ask Taiga to quit. It’s his fiancé’s <i>job</i> — it would be immoral of him to demand for Taiga to walk away from something he’s good at, and, on top of it all, saves lives. However, at nights like these, when all he’s heard from his lover is that one text he received hours ago telling him he’d be late due to a major accident at the very south side of Tokyo, it’s hard not to just wish he could.</p>
            </blockquote>





	sleepless

**Author's Note:**

> contribution to KagaKuroMonth! **chosen prompt:** fears

It’s not like Tetsuya will ever ask Taiga to quit. It’s his fiancé’s _job_ — it would be immoral of him to demand for Taiga to walk away from something he’s good at, and, on top of it all, saves lives. However, at nights like these, when all he’s heard from his lover is that one text he received hours ago telling him he’d be late due to a major accident at the very south side of Tokyo, it’s hard not to just wish he could. Wish he could genuinely ask Taiga to please find a profession that doesn’t keep him awake at nights like these.

Tetsuya has given up on sleep for the time being. He’d tried, but he kept tossing and turning, imaginary images he’d rather forget seeping into his conscience, and so he finds himself curled up in the couch in their living room, Taiga’s t-shirt that still smells of him rather evidently put on Tetsuya’s much smaller frame. Sometimes Tetsuya, funnily enough, forgets their size difference until he puts on some of Taiga’s clothes and he realizes he’s swimming in them.

While Tetsuya has an average Japanese height for a male, and had stopped growing around the age of seventeen, Taiga had continued to stretch taller and gotten even more muscular into his college years due to constant basketball training and otherwise athletics work to keep up with the new league. Tetsuya hadn’t gone to the same college, and hadn’t played basketball outside of with their friends, but it had become rather clear that Aomine-kun and Taiga — who, at the time, had fully intended to pursue a professional career within the sport they all loved — evolved to beat their asses without much sweat being shed.

Still, it was— _is_ always fun. Yes, even now. Of course, it had taken some time for both Aomine-kun and Taiga to get back on their feet when it was revealed they could never play professional basketball again. They’d started off so well, but both had suffered from injuries that could never heal, and no matter how close Tetsuya hugged his former teammate and lover, whispered comforting words, kissed his face, he had known he could never quite heal that broken spirit completely. At least not yet.

So they found something else.

He and Kise-kun had laughed, despite the fact that the anxiety grew for each time they thought it over.

“ _Of course_ , Kagamicchi and Aominecchi would get reckless jobs; it’s just who they _are_ ,” Kise had said with a fond smile shortly after it had been announced and he and Tetsuya had been sharing lunch with Takao Kazunari and Himuro Tatsuya.

“A cop and a fireman? That’s the most standard thing I’ve ever heard though. Tetsu-chan should remind them that there are only so many clichés we can take!” Takao had said with a snicker.

Himuro had laughed too, Tetsuya recalled, but he’d also looked at him in a way that, at the time, Tetsuya hadn’t quite understood. Now he does. Sometimes he forgets that Himuro-san has known Taiga longer than him, and that, albeit in a different way, they both love him, and, thus, naturally worry about him.

But Tetsuya knows Himuro-san won’t get it completely. While Tetsuya now holds a cup of tea close to his chest, eyes wandering to the window to watch the never-sleeping city of Tokyo, and worries if he’ll be single tomorrow, Himuro-san has Murasakibara-kun wrapped around him like a safety blanket somewhere in Akita where their baking business is blooming beautifully.

He isn’t unhappy, but he’s _scared_.

And he knows someone else is too.

“Kurokocchi, did you eat?” is the first thing Kise asks him when he picks up. There aren’t really any greetings needed, considering they both know what this is about. Kise wouldn’t have picked up at three in the morning otherwise. His old classmate is in the exact same position, probably curled up in his bathrobe while watching the city with a growing anxiety much like Tetsuya’s own.

“I had some tea, Kise-kun,” Tetsuya glances over at Nigou. The, now, big dog is sleeping in his basket that’s almost too small for him. Tetsuya had wanted to switch it out, but Taiga had said it would be stupid considering he almost always end up in their bed _anyway_ , and he has an entire armchair that’s officially his since they always take the couch too, so Taiga’s reasoning had been that it wasn’t necessary.

“That’s not food, Kurokocchi! Want me to come over? I’ll bring some frozen pizza and we can bake.”

They always end up doing _something_ , and Tetsuya doesn’t really care what, because right now he just doesn’t want to be _alone_. He wants Taiga, but since he can’t have him right now, he’ll have the next best thing. A friend who understands. Kise and Aomine’s apartment is only a couple of blocks away so after twenty minutes he’s there — in his bathrobe, Tetsuya notes — with plastic bags and a smile that doesn’t quite reach his ears, and for a moment — after Kise has placed the groceries on the counter — Tetsuya hugs him.

“Kurokocchi…” Kise tries to keep his voice free from anxiety, but Tetsuya knows and simply shakes his head, as if saying that he doesn’t need to pretend for him.

They’re _scared_.

So scared.

It’s been hours, and they haven’t heard _anything_. No text. No phone call. They don’t want to turn on the news.

They put the pizzas in the oven and then start on the cake mix. Kise’s actually not half-bad making pastry from scratch — his copying abilities, Tetsuya and the others had pleasantly noted, are not limited to basketball only — but they need a simple distraction, not something that requires too much effort, but at the same time gives them something to do besides curling up against each other and just wait.

“You had work today, Kise-kun?” Tetsuya asks softly as he chops up the chocolate bars Kise had bought for the cake.

“Just a few shoots early in the morning. I got back and Daiki was still in bed, _of course_ , but… hey, I guess it’s not that bad that he does sleep in on his days off just in case of emergencies.” _Like now_ , they both hear the other say, despite the fact that it’s never spoken out loud.

“Are you supposed to have sweets?” Tetsuya tries to sound teasing, but he was never really good at that to begin with.

“Not _really_ , but I’m blessed with a speedy metabolism, Kurokocchi! Sometimes I cheat.” Kise winks. Tetsuya already knows that, but it feels pleasant just exchanging causalities. It makes him forget that he misses Taiga so much it hurts, that he wants a phone call so he can hear his voice, saying that he’ll come home soon.

Tetsuya doesn’t eat a lot normally, but strangely enough he eats when he’s anxious. Taiga has commented on numerous occasions how odd it is to see him actually stuff his face when he’s scared and nervous but eats like a petite child when he’s comfortable. Tetsuya doesn’t really care. The pizza is a good and Kise-kun is the opposite of him, eating well when comfortable, losing appetite when frightened, so someone has to make sure they don’t leave too many leftovers.

Kise-kun has a sweet tooth when anxious, however, and the cake is _good_ , but they leave most of it to be divided into two so that they can save if for their not-really-better-halves. Tetsuya has to smile a little at his last thought. Kise-kun closes the fridge and stretches a little, trying to act calm when really both their fingers are quivering.

It’s _five_ in the morning. They haven’t hard a thing yet.

“Remember when that time we went to Kyoto, Kise-kun, for your shoot? We had lunch at a bar that had basketball games on and served those burgers Taiga and Aomine-kun fell in love with.” Tetsuya wraps a blanket tightly around himself as he returns to the comfortable couch.

Kise follows with a small genuine smile this time. “Of course. We almost got thrown out because Daiki and Kagamicchi shouted at the TV far too loudly. The waitresses seemed to like us though.”

“They liked _you_ , Kise-kun.” Tetsuya remarks. He glances away, a small smile gracing his lips. “I just remembered that conversation about calling each other ‘our better half’ and you said you never used that term for Aomine-kun…”

“But instead calls him my-not-so-better-half, I remember, and you said you were going to copy that, and Kagamicchi got so offended.” Kise laughs a bit.

Tetsuya’s smile turns even softer. “It’s not really true though,” he admits, head tilting to the side as he glances at the flickering city lights once more. “Taiga is my better half. A loud, simple-minded, sometimes far too temperamental better half, but…” He can’t continue. Something feels like it gets stuck in his throat. _I can’t lose him_ , he thinks, and starts to shake. Kise-kun wraps his arms around him and buries his face against his neck. It’s somewhat calming.

“It’s okay,” Kise says, this time firmly despite how quiet it is. “ _They’re_ okay. Kagamicchi, and Aominecchi? They’re the most stubborn idiots we know right. It’s for a reason. They’re the last ones that’ll ever…” Kise takes a deep breath, his hold tightening around him, and Tetsuya squeezed his hand. “They’ll never leave us. I know they won’t.”

It’s a nice sentiment. Believing in your significant other to the point where they seem immortal. Tetsuya likes it, and wants to believe it so much it hurts. Ever since Taiga started working as a fireman his feelings had been mixed. Sometimes he’s proud — like when he sometimes arranges for Taiga and some of his coworkers, like that sweet Tachibana man, to bring their truck to the daycare to let the kids have a look — and other times he’s scared and angry, like now, because this job carries so many risks and on occasion Tetsuya would much rather have Taiga in a safe office.

He isn’t perfect. Tetsuya knows he can be childish, and sometimes when they fight — which is rare in a serious sense, but it _happens_ — he’ll express how he sometimes hates Taiga’s job. But Taiga will tell him _all_ jobs carries risks, _existing_ carries risks, and being in an office would just make him unhappy.

Tetsuya knows. God he knows, but like tonight he wants to be selfish.

He’s so far into his own thoughts he doesn’t take notice of the twist of a doorknob until he hears mutual groans from outside the door. He perks up, feeling Kise-kun by his side doing the same, and almost laughs in utter relief as a familiar redhead steps through the door. “I _told_ you,” he hear Aomine-kun say, gesturing towards them from behind Taiga’s back.

“Tetsuya, what are you doing up, it’s like _six_?” Taiga asks his eyes widening.

He doesn’t answer. He just gets out of the pile he and Kise-kun had, at some point, arranged around themselves and sprints into his fiancé’s arms instead. More like he lunges into him, arms wrapping around his waist and his entire body quivering in pure and utter happiness. Taiga smells faintly of smoke, despite the fact that he noticed his hair is moist, meaning he’d showered back at the station.

It takes only a couple of seconds for Taiga to respond. He understands now. Tetsuya can’t sleep, not when he’s staying up late like this, not certain nights when he’s gripped by fear and can’t even close his eyes without thinking about things he absolutely should not. “Hey…” He feels Taiga’s hands on his cheeks, thumb stroking over them, putting them away from himself enough that he can kiss Tetsuya softly on the mouth. He then pulls away and softly says: “I’m sorry. I didn’t have time to text or call you. It’s been a nightmare since midnight.”

“No kidding,” Aomine-kun murmurs.

“If it helps, we baked cake,” he hears Kise’s muffled voice say. His face is buried against Aomine’s neck as the dark skinned man strokes his fingers through his lover’s golden hair.

“How about we eat that when I have slept for a hundred years?” Aomine suggests with a slight pull at the corner of his lips. He has dark bangs under his eyes, Tetsuya notes sympathetically. He hasn’t even gotten a good look at his fiancé, but he’s pretty sure Taiga doesn’t look any better. They must be exhausted.

Kise-kun grabs his stuff quickly, serves both Tetsuya and Taiga a hug each, before he and Aomine leaves hand-in hand. Overwhelmed by relief, Tetsuya pulls Taiga into their bedroom and pushes him gently down. He closes the blinds completely, turns off all timers, glad it’s a Saturday morning, and, at last, turns off the light.

He then crawls into bed, and lets his body get pulled towards Taiga’s. He rests his chin on top of his lover’s, feels his breath against his chest as he practically uses Tetsuya’s chest as a pillow. “I love you so much,” Tetsuya breathes, because he still _can_. Taiga’s here. He’s had a long night, and he’ll probably tell him about it tomorrow— or well, later _today_ , but right now he’s going to sleep and Tetsuya can finally sleep too. He’s _here_. Alive and breathing. Not hurt.

Taiga’s _safe_ and that’s all that matters.

“I love you too,” the redhead says quietly, grip tightening only a little around his smaller lover.

Tetsuya finally closes his eyes.


End file.
